Shatrughan Sinha on no-confidence motion: Dirty linen will be washed in public

Shatrughan Sinha on no-confidence motion: Dirty linen will be washed in public

Shatrughan Sinha will vote against the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. He said it would be interesting to watch Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Mod in Parliament tomorrow.

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Supriya Bhardwaj

New Delhi

July 19, 2018

UPDATED: July 19, 2018 16:57 IST

BJP MP Shatrughan Sinha, who has been at loggerheads with the party leadership since 2015 Bihar election, has said that he will vote against the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. (Photo: PTI)

HIGHLIGHTS

Shatrughan Sinha to vote against no-confidence motion

Sinha says Rahul vs Modi battle would be interesting

No-confidence motion against Modi government on Friday

Shatrughan Sinha, the BJP MP from Patna Sahib, today surprised many by declaring that he would vote against the no-confidence motion in the Lok Sabha. Shatrughan Sinha said that he would vote for "my partyin these troubled times". However, he also said that no-confidence motion was an occasion to wash dirty linen in public.

Shatrughan Sinha said, "Tomorrow I will vote for my party. I am still part of my party and my party hasn't thrown me out. In these troubled times, I will stand with my party."

"But, one thing is sure that many dirty linen will be washed in the public tomorrow," said Shatrughan Sinha, adding, "It would be interesting to see Rahul Gandhi vs Narendra Modi tomorrow."

"This is not the first no-confidence motion against Modi and also not the last because after this (test in the Lok Sabha), we will be seeing polls in the country," Shatrughan Sinha said while referring to a series of Assembly elections leading up to the Lok Sabha polls next year.

The BJP leader has been critical of the Modi government and party leadership for quite some time. He voiced his opposition to decisions like demonetisation and rollout of GST (goods and services tax). Shatrughan Sinha has been vocal about his support for many Opposition leaders including convicted RJD chief Lalu Prasad and his son Tejashwi Yadav.

Shatrughan Sinha has praised Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on several occasions at a time when his own party, the BJP was engaged in a bitter political fight with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government.

Only recently, Shatrughan Sinha visited Srinagar and met Mehbooba Mufti, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir. Her government fell after the BJP walked out of the coalition. He attacked the BJP leadership for shifting blame on Mehbooba Mufti and her PDP saying, "Nobody is perfectIt's wrong to say that we were right and they are wrong."

But today, Shatrughan Sinha told India Today that he would stand by the BJP during voting on no-confidence motion. The BJP has issued whip to all party MPs asking them to be present and vote against the no-confidence motion on July 20. A violation of whip may lead to disqualification as a Member of Parliament under anti-defection law.